Dem bones, dem bones, dem light bones

Blinding lights

Designer by day, light painter around Los Angeles, California, by night, Darius Twin produces pieces of light art that fire our imaginations while at the same time leaving us scratching our heads as to how he does it. We technically do know how — he moves a torch like a paint brush in front of an open camera shutter — but the depth of detail shown in his work is just incredible.

So we asked him.

The images are created by using a long exposure: setting the camera up on a tripod and leaving the shutter open at night.

The characters are made by a light pointed toward the lens during the exposure. Effects are similar to the kind you'd see with a sparkler at night or car trails.

But with each exposure only taking around five to seven minutes, the skill that he demonstrates with each painting — which date all the way back to 2006 — is just superb.

For those who want to get out and try it for yourself, he explains the technical details in the video below. Scroll further down for a showcase of what Darius Twin can do with just a Canon EOS 7D and a couple of torches in the LA nightscape.